Kudumbashree Women Construction Groups have been appreciated by Ramoji Group for their time bound approach in completing the construction of the houses using the CSR Fund of Ramoji Film City. Kudumbashree had received appreciation letter from Shri. Ramoji Rao, Chairman, Ramoji Group appreciating Kudumbashree Women Construction Groups for constructing the houses with the stipulated specifications. He said that the time bound approach of Kudumbashree women construction groups has helped them complete the project within the time frame. He also added that they are greatly satisfied by the work of Kudumbashree Construction Groups and shared their immense pleasure to recommend the services of the groups in similar projects.

Kudumbashree had received Ramoji Film City's CSR fund for constructing 121 houses in the flood affected areas of Alappuzha district of Kerala. Ramoji film city, the world’s largest integrated film city and India's only thematic holiday destination had offered Rs 7 crores for building houses for the people in the flood hit areas of Alappuzha. It is as per the request of Shri. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister, Government of Kerala that Ramoji Film City came forward with the CSR fund for constructing the houses in Alappuzha. As per the agreement, a total of 121 houses are being constructed in the district. Construction of each house cost around Rs 6 lakhs. The agreement regarding the same was signed at the function held at Camelot Convention Centre, Pathirappally, Alappuzha on 1 March 2019 in the presence of Shri. A.C Moideen, Minister for Local Self Governments, Government of Kerala and Dr T.M Thomas Issac, Minister of Finance and Coir, Government of Kerala. Kudumbashree Mission had identified the beneficiaries and forwarded the list to the CSR committee of Ramoji Film City. The project was implemented in three phases.

Kudumbashree would be felicitated with the 'Changemaker' Award by Save the Children, a global non-profit organisation and is India's leading independent child rights NGO. The award would be given away at the National Summit proposed to be held at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 30 September 2019.

'Save the Children' run programmes in the remotest corners of India and urban areas to provide quality education and healthcare, protection from harm and abuse and life-saving aid during emergencies to children. In 2019, they complete their 100 years of impact globally and 10 remarkable years in India. They had organized 'The Right Start'-an initiative to bring the focus on celebrating and safeguarding the early years of children and ensuring they are future-ready and step up their work on critical themes of under nutrition, pneumonia, school readiness and violence against children for the most marginalized as those areas can be the biggest enablers or barriers towards a child’s development. And as part of The Right Start, they are organized 6 consultative state children’s summits that culminated with a national-level summit in Delhi where children from all states are brought together along with National level functionaries from the Government, Donors, UN Agencies, Civil Society, media etc.

Kudumbashree would be formally acknowledged and would be felicitated you as a 'Changemaker' in the presence of our board and key stakeholders at the function for the interventions of Kudumbashree for the welfare of the children in Kerala.

Kudumbashree is all set to setup a mini tribal library-Baisak at the office of Thirunelly Special Project, Kattikulam of Wayanad district as part of Thirunelly Special Project. A mobile library book campaign has been launched to collect the books from the public. The campaign envisages to collect maximum number of Malayalam books, children's literature, science, maths, English, fairy tales, general knowledge books, dictionaries etc. The books would be collected with the support of Kudumbashree Mission.

Thirunelly Special Project is the special programme initiated by National Rural Livelihood Mission for giving special care and for bringing in sustainable development in the tribal predominant area in Wayanad district-Thirunelly. In line with the project implemented in Attappady, a comprehensive approach and sustainable development programme is envisaged in major tribal predominant areas of Kerala as an expansion. The project aims at effectively attaining socio-economic development in these areas through the construction of strong social institutions of women and enable them to engage in micro-credit, sustainable livelihoods, upliftment of social status, accessing entitlements and rights and asserting agency as equal citizens in the development process. The project aims to alleviate the social and economic deprivation of Kattunaykan, Adiya and Paniya tribal communities of Kerala. Women’s institutions would be built up strongly in these areas to be able to lead towards total financial inclusion leading towards poverty alleviation and social development.

Kannur District Mission launched 11 branded items of 10 Kudumbashree enterprises from Kannur. The products were launched by Shri. Ramachandran Kadannappally, Minister for Ports, Museums, Archaeology and Archives, Government of Kerala at the programme held at District Panchayath Hall, Kannur on 7 September 2019.

The products include Chocosoft Chocolate of Kottiyoor CDS, Payasam Mix produced by Oorjjashree Nutrimix unit, Yahoo Biscuits, Sahyashree Honey, Chaithanya Woolen Clothes, St. George Orgo Cleaner of Peravoor CDS, Shysol Cloth Chappals of Kannur CDS, Gokulam Agarbathi of Thripangottoor CDS, Nightingale Nighties produced by Kudumbashree Apparel Parks, Active Plus Liquid Cloth Wash produced by Koothuparambu CDS and Vibrant Shirts are the branded products launched by Kannur District Mission. The Chocosoft Chocolate is the first ever chocolate produced by a Kudumbashree enterprise. The Orgo Cleaner produced from waste clothes is also an innovative enterprise launched by Kannur District Mission. By launching the branded products, Kudumbashree Mission aims at securing more market for the products of Kudumbashree micro enterprises from Kannur.

The float presented by Kudumbashree Mission during the procession marking the end of Onam Celebrations 2019 stood out by reflecting  Kudumbashree members's resilience, compassion and commitment towards the society. The float's theme was based on the socially commited activities of Kudumbashree Mission post floods of August 2018. Floats were designed based on Kudumbashree's women construction groups and ARISE (Acquiring Resilience and Identity through Sustainable Employment) programme, which Kudumbashree has launched to create self employment opportunities by extending skill training. 

Kudumbashree women has therefore been rewriting history by undertaking works in the construction sector. It was on anticipating the huge shortage of labour force in the near future because of various determined Government campaigns of mass housing,that training was extended to women in construction sector. So that groups of micro contractors could be formed, who can take up the construction of houses of poor and needy, in addition to taking up of bigger projects. As a part of LIFE mission more than 2.5 lakhs houses are being constructed in the state which provide huge employment opportunity for women construction groups. Further, once the construction groups completes 3/4 houses, it is aimed to upgrade them to become micro contractors for taking up various works of local self governments. Training is given by taking up the construction of the beneficiaries of various government schemes like PMAY(U), LIFE etc.   

Post floods, ARISE programme was launched after identifying that there exist many job offers in these sectors, through the livelihood survey during October 2018.  During the unprecedented floods of August 2018, as many people lost their source of livelihood and many of them became jobless for months. Government of Kerala entrusted Kudumbashree to identify new source of livelihood for them and therefore Kudumbashree framed a livelihood project comprising of various programmes in micro enterprises and skill training sectors. A survey was conducted to identify which all enterprises hold the maximum job opportunities and as a result 10 job sectors were identified. It was understood that, the number of service providers are too less in plumbing, electrical work, electronics repair, day care, housekeeping etc. On realizing that, it was decided to extend training and help them start enterprises in these sectors. And ARISE Programme was launched.

Kudumbashree's fourth defibering unit was launched at Kasaragod. Shri. E.P. Jayarajan, Minister for Industries, Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Kerala inaugurated the defibering unit at Kasaragod on 14 September 2019.  The Coir Defibering unit was launched at Kinanur Karinthalam Grama Panchayath. Kasaragod Kudumbasree Mission has initiated the project and Kinanur karinthalam CDS took proactive attitude to mobilize a team of five women to start up the venture. Smt. Savithri, Smt. Reena (President), Jayasree, Smt. Subisha (Secretary), and Smt. Syamala, five Kudumbashree members hailing from poor families of Kattippyol ward 4 of Kinanur Karinthalam grama Panchayat were given training by Coir machinery manufacturing Co. Ltd. The work shed and other infrastructure are arranged by Parappa block Panchayath and Kinanur Karinthalam Grama Panchayath. The machinery, supplied by the company is having the capacity to defibre 2500-3000 husks per day. 

Its regarding the acceptance for the coir products in other countries and for improving the use of the same, that Kudumbashree Mission framed this programme. The first of the series was launched at Pariyaram, Kannur. The programme aims at extracting coconut fibre from raw coconut husks. The Coirfed will procure the fibre from the units. The procurement of these husks will be done by the units itself. The units may also find extra income by selling the coir pith, the byproduct of the fibre extracting process. The programme aims at securing job & income for Kudumbashree women and thereby strengthen the coir sector. The expert NHG women in this area therefore may make use of their free time in a fruitful way and can find income out of it. The mechanised system will help to increase the production and it would increase the physical strain.  Coir- defibering units had already been started in Pariyaram, Kannur, Anthoor, Kannur and Alagappa Nagar, Thrissur.

Kudumbashree opened AC waiting Hall at Kannur Railway Station. Shri. M. Surjith, District Mission Co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Kannur District Mission inaugurated the waiting hall on 5 September 2019. The AC waiting hall opened by Kudumbashree at railway station is being a boon for many people especially women and the elderly. The air conditioned waiting hall opened at Kannur Railway Station  works 24 hours a day and provide a comfortable halt to the travelers. Feeding console is also arranged for lactating mothers is one of the attractive feature of Kudumbashree Waiting Hall.  An amount of Rs 30 per hour is charged for availing the services of Kudumbashree's AC waiting hall. Television and reading area is also set up along with. The AC waiting hall has also set up a clean, hygienic bathroom and special area for mobile charging as well. As per the agreement,  Kudumbashree and Railways would share the daily collection on 50:50 ratio.

Four staff are entrusted with the smooth functioning of the waiting hall. Kudumbashree rest rooms are opened at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Thrissur and Tirur railway stations. The clean and safe rest rooms opened by Kudumbashree is a boon to the women passengers who travels alone. Yet another waiting hall with the same facilities would be opened at Thalassery railway station by October 2019.

Kudumbashree Wayanad District Mission organises Kambalanatti Programme as part of Thirunelly Tribal Special Intervention Programme. The inauguration of the sowing of the seeds was held at Puthiyoor Paddy fields, Wayanad on 5 September 2019. Smt. Sajitha, District Mission Co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Wayanad District Mission inaugurated the programme and disbursed the financial assistance to the Paniya, Adiya, Kattunaykan tribal communities in the Panchayath. Smt. Mayadevi, Panchayath President, Thirunelly Panchayath presided over the function. Indigenous varieties of paddy from Wayanad would be cultivated by the tribal population in 120 acres of land in Thirunelly. 53 Joint Liability Groups were newly formed in the panchayath.

Thirunelly programme is the special programme initiated by National Rural Livelihood Mission for giving special care and for bringing in sustainable development in the tribal predominant area in the district-Thirunelly. In line with the project implemented in Attapady, a comprehensive approach and sustainable development programme is envisaged in major tribal predominant areas of Kerala as an expansion. The project aims at effectively attaining socio-economic development in these areas through the construction of strong social institutions of women and enable them to engage in micro-credit, sustainable livelihoods, upliftment of social status, accessing entitlements and rights and asserting agency as equal citizens in the development process. The project aims to alleviate the social and economic deprivation of Kattunaykan, Adiya and Paniya tribal communities of Kerala. Women’s institutions would be built up strongly in these areas to be able to lead towards total financial inclusion leading towards poverty alleviation and social development.

Kudumbashree women from Alappuzha made meritorious achievement at 67th Nehru Trophy Boat Race, which was held at Punnamada Backwaters, Alappuzha on 31 August 2019. The women participated, performed well and secured second prize at the prestigious Nehru Trophy Boat Race 2019. The boat steered by powerful women of Kudumbashree made their mark in the very first race in which they participated. The women not only rowed the ‘Thekkethil' boat, but bagged second place in the competition in the Thekkanodi category. It was decided to take part in the Nehru Trophy Boat race as a part of the gender development activities being implemented by Kudumbashree. In the debut competition itself, the Kudumbashree members from Kuttanad were able to bag second prize. Kerala Police team bagged the first prize and the Devadas boat, rowed by the women team of Puthooran boat club bagged the third prize.

Kudumbashree members wholeheartedly received the idea of participating in the boat race when the idea was presented before them a month ago. 84 women came forward for team selection trails, and 36 women were selected out of them. Those selected were given intensive training of 5 hours each every day, starting from 25 July 2019. The team is proud that they were able to win, and full credits to their hard work and determination.

More than 100 women were registered from various CDS in Kuttanad. A total of 36 eligible candidates were selected from the screening process in two days. The CDS team consists  CDS Chairpersons of Muttar, Pulinkunnu, Kainakari, Nedumudi, Ramankari, Edathwa and Kavalam. Chairpersons from Nedumudi, Kavitha Mohan and Edathwa, Thankamani Sudhan also participating. The team consisted women of 35 to 67 years of age. Selection and training were done under the supervision of 5 skilled trainers. The training was held from 1-5 August 2019 at Pullikunnaaru. Then on 6-7 August 2019, they were trained on the track at the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. The training were led by the Gender team of Kudumbashree. Sunita. P, District Program Manager, Gender was the team captain.

Kudumbashree bagged Skoch Order of Merit Award for forming elderly NHGs and attaining notable achievements in social security sector. Shri. Anishkumar. M.S, Senior Consultant, Kudumbashree received the award from Shri, Nirmal Bansal, Senior Distinguished Fellow, Skoch Development Foundation during the programme hels at Constitution Club of India, New Delhi on 28 August 2019. By forming NHGs, Kudumbashree succeeded in creating a community for elderly people and for turning elderly NHGs into the best space for addressing their needs and ideas.

In the first phase, Kudumbashree put the details about the various activities being implemented for the elderly people in the website. On analysing the same, the officials invited Kudumbashree to present the project before the jury panel in the second phase. The general public was given the opportunity to vote for the projects which passed in both phases. Kudumbashree bagged the award based on its merit and the votes received. Kudumbashree was selected out of the 1000+ entries received for the award.

It is as part of strengthening the three tier system of Kudumbashree and focusing on social security, elderly NHG formation was started. As of now, there are 19,701 elderly NHGs under Kudumbashree Mission which has 2,36,292 people as members. Kudumbashree is also extending assistance for them to launch enterprises in agro- micro enterprise sectors. As of now, there are 276 micro enterprises owned by the elderly NHGs in Kerala.

Skoch Order of Merit constituted by Skoch Group, a think tank dealing with the socio economic issues with a focus on inclusive growth since 1997. Kudumbashree had bagged 7 Skoch Awards during 2018. The Skoch Award for Corporate Excellence (Bronze) has been awarded to Kudumbashree Mission for Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY). The Skoch Order of Merit have been awarded for Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY), Kudumbashree School Capacity Building programme for 43 lakh Kudumbashree NHG members, Kudumbashree Facility Management Center, Homeshop, Kudumbashree Women Construction Groups and Amrutham Nutrimix for qualifying amongst the Top Corporate Excellence Projects in India.